easy meals – My Whisk and I

Mexican Bowls

November 7, 2024November 6, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomato
1kg minced/ground beef
250ml beef stock
1 x 400g tin of red/black beans
1 chilli, finely chopped

avocado pear, sliced
baby corn
tomato, diced
cos lettuce, quartered

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat, add some olive oil and fry the onions until soft.
Add the garlic and sweet pepper and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chopped tomato, minced beef and stock to the pan and stir through.
Season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Drain the beans and add it to the saucepan with the chilli. Cook for another 5 minutes or so while stirring.
Remove from the heat.

Put your bowls together by incorporating:
* the fried minced beef mixture
* avocado pear
*baby corn
* chopped tomato
* lettuce

Serve while the beef is still warm.

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Chicken-Potato Bake

June 25, 2024June 24, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1,5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
100g butter, cubed
125ml milk
15ml olive oil
30g butter
1kg chicken breasts, cut into 3cm pieces
2 onions, chopped
200g bacon, chopped
125ml dry white wine
80ml flour
190ml chicken stock
190 ml cream
250ml frozen peas

Place the potato chunks in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cook until the potato is tender.
Drain and return the potato to the saucepan.
Add the 100g butter and milk to the saucepan and mash the potato until smooth.
Season the mash with salt and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Place a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and 30g butter to it.
Cook the chicken chunks in batches until caramelised and brown.
Spoon the chicken into a ceramic oven dish and set aside.
Now add the onion and bacon to the same pan and cook on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine while stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour over and while stirring for 1-2 minutes.
Add the stock a little at a time and then drizzle in the cream.
Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
Add the peas, stir through and pour the mixture over the chicken.
Top the chicken with the mashed potato and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

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Roasted Pumpkin Stew

May 28, 2024May 21, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

30ml vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml sugar
5ml ground cinnamon
10ml salt
1kg beef chuck, cut into 3cm pieces
1 x 385g tin of chopped tomatoes
250ml beef stock
1 small pumpkin, 500g cubed and the rest cut into wedges
15ml cornflour
1 x tin coconut milk

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a roasting tin with baking paper.
Place large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil and onion and cook until the onion is soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir through.
Now add the beef cubes, chopped tomatoes and beef stock and bring to a simmer. Gently cook the meat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the pumpkin wedges to the roasting tin and brush vegetable oil all over. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the wedges for 15 minutes, flip them over and roast for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep warm.
Add the cubed pumpkin to the saucepan and simmer for another 20-30 minutes until beautifully soft.
Mix the cornflour with 45ml of the coconut milk and drizzle the mixture into the saucepan.
Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Serve the pumpkin stew on steamed rice with a wedge of roasted pumpkin on top.

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Lemon Ribs

April 14, 2024April 12, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1.5kb lamb ribs
1 lemon, the zest grated finely
2 lemons, juiced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml thyme leaves
15ml rosemary
50ml white wine
30ml olive oil
30ml honey
45ml wholegrain mustard
10ml salt

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Cut 2 pieces of baking paper, large enough to cover an oven roasting dish. Scrunch the paper into a ball, open it up and run it under cold water. Line your roasting dish with one of the wet pieces of paper. Set aside.
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, wine, oil, honey, mustard and salt to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Place the ribs in the prepared dish, pour over half of the sauce and spread it evenly over the meat.
Flip the ribs over, pour the rest of the sauce over and spread it evenly.
Cover the ribs with the other piece of wet baking paper and bake in the oven for 90 minutes.
Remove the baking paper and bake for another 10 minutes or so until the ribs start to brown.
Flip them over and bake the other side until golden.
Serve immediately.

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Orzo Carbonara with Mushroom

March 14, 2024March 13, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

500g mushrooms, sliced
200g smoked bacon, cut into pieces
30ml + 30ml butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
500ml orzo
1 litre chicken stock
15ml chopped parsley
30ml thyme leaves
125ml cream
125ml grated parmesan cheese

Place a large pan on medium-high heat, add 30ml butter, a dash of cooking and the mushrooms.
Cook until golden, spoon into a bowl and set aside.
Add the bacon pieces to the same pan and cook until crispy on the edges. Spoon into a bowl and set aside.
Add the other 30ml butter and onion to the pan and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Pour the orzo and stock into the pan, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. You want a cooked orzo that has absorbed most of the water.
Add the parsley, thyme and cream and stir through.
Now add the mushroom and bacon back into the pan and warm through while stirring.
Sprinkle over the parmesan, add a few grindings of black pepper and serve immediately.

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Garden Pea Pie

March 3, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

2 x 400g rolls of puff pastry
250ml grated Ementhal cheese
310ml cream
4 eggs
250ml frozen peas, defrosted
5ml salt
egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 15ml water beaten together

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray a 26cm diameter pie dish with cooking spray.
Line the bottom and sides of the dish with one of the sheets of pastry. Trim the sides to make it neat and prick the bottom with a fork.
Line the pastry with baking paper, weigh it down with rice/beans and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
Turn your oven down to 180℃.
Add the cheese, cream, eggs, peas, salt and a few grindings of black pepper to a mixing bowl and mix together.
Pour the mixture into the baked pastry shell.
Place the second roll of puff pastry on a work surface and cut a 27cm diameter circle from it to form the pie’s lid. Decorate the lid with cut-outs from the scrap pastry if you like.
Place the pastry lid on the pie and lightly brush with the egg wash.
Place the pie in the oven and bake for 50minutes. Start watching the colour of the pastry after 25 minutes or so and place a piece of aluminium foil on top of the pie if it is browning too quickly.
Take the pie from the oven, let it stand for 10minutes and serve.

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Creamy Parmesan Chicken

January 9, 2024January 8, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

80ml flour
8 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
vegetable oil
62ml butter
25ml flour
125ml white wine
62ml milk
62ml chicken stock
125ml finely grated parmesan cheese
30ml chopped parsley

Place the chicken on a work surface and dust both sides with the flour and some salt.
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat, add some vegetable oil and brown the breasts to golden brown. Work in batches and keep the browned breasts on the side.
Add the butter and wait for it to melt.
Sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir while cooking for 2-3 minutes.
Add the white wine, milk and chicken stock and stir the mixture until smooth and thickened.
Place the chicken breasts in the sauce, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes, turning once or twice.
Remove the lid and sprinkle the parmesan over.
Stir the sauce for another 4 minutes before taking it from the heat.
Sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

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20-Minute Tuna Spaghetti

September 25, 2023September 7, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250g spaghetti
45ml olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 tins of shredded tuna, drained
1 lemon, zest and juice
125ml sour cream
30ml capers, roughly chopped
30ml chopped parsley
15ml chopped chives
parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Drain the pasta and keep it in the pot too stay warm.
Place a large pan over medium heat, add the oil and wait for it to heat up.
Add the garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
Now add the tuna, lemon zest and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Pour in the cream and cook for 1 minute.
Add the spaghetti, capers, parsley and chives and stir until the spaghetti is well coated in the sauce.
Grate over a generous amount of parmesan cheese and stir through.
Now grate over some more parmesan, stir again and serve.

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Pork Sausages with Onion Gravy

September 22, 2023September 1, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

8 – 16 pork sausages
15ml + 45ml vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
3 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
45ml flour
500ml beef stock
1,2ml salt
black pepper

Place a large saucepan/pan over medium-high heat and pour in the vegetable oil.
Add the sausages and cook until browned. Turn them every now and then to get an even golden colour. Cook for 10 minutes or so.
Remove the sausages from the pan and lower the heat to medium.
Add the onion and leek and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Spread the onion and leek out in the pan and sprinkle the flour over.
Stir and cook for about 2 minutes to cook out the flour.
Add 60ml of the stock to the pan and stir.
Add another 60ml, keep stirring and wait for it to become more saucy.
Slowly drizzle in the rest of the stock while stirring – if you pour it all in at once the sauce will be lumpy.
Simmer the gravy until it thickens. It won’t look as thick as you will want it to be but it will thicken more, later on.
Add the salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Place the sausages back in the pan and heat through on a low heat for between 5 and 10 minutes.
Serve the sausages on potato mash and slosh it with the gravy.

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Tomato and Leek Soup

September 8, 2023August 29, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

45ml butter
30ml olive oil
4 leeks, washed and sliced in coins
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato
15ml sugar
5ml salt
500ml vegetable stock
60ml cream
a handful of basil leaves

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the butter and olive oil.
Add the leeks and cook, stirring often, until just before the leaks start to caramelise.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add the tomato, sugar, salt and vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Blitz the soup with an immersion blender until smooth and place it back on a medium-high heat.
Pour in the cream and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Scatter over the basil leaves and serve with toasted cheese sandwiches.